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Home > Aswan > Private Tour: Abu Simbel by Minibus from Aswan
Private Tour: Abu Simbel by Minibus from Aswan
USD $103.00

Private Tour: Abu Simbel by Minibus from Aswan

Aswan, Egypt

See the magnificent temples of Abu Simbel on a minibus tour from Aswan. With a qualified Egyptologist as your guide, you'll enjoy a personalized visit to Abu Simbel on this private tour. With its four rock-hewn pharaohs, you'll agree that the Great Temple is one of the most impressive sites in Egypt, and the highlight of any trip to Egypt.

On the short walk to the temple entrances, your guide will explain the history of the site, including details of the UNESCO-led relocation of the entire cliff face to higher ground, and how the temples were discovered by accident in 1813. Due to the large number of visitors to Abu Simbel, guides are not permitted inside either the Great Temple of Ramses II or the smaller Temple of Hathor. However, by using photos and illustrations, your guide will explain to you the structures and their interior artworks. You will then have free time to enter the temples and explore them at your leisure.

As one of the few ancient Egyptian sites which largely escaped damage by past invaders, the interiors of Abu Simbel's temples are astounding. The scale of the buildings and their detailed decoration leaves most visitors in awe. The temples' attraction is further enhanced by their scenic location on the edge of Lake Nasser in the orange sands of the desert.

After visiting the temples there may be time for a short visit to the small visitor's center which documents the UNESCO relocation project, before returning to the minibus for the drive back to Aswan. The drive is approximately three hours each way.

USD $103.00
Traveler Reviews
Review by:   Ilona B,    October 2016 Review: 2 star rating: It was OK, but could have been better
The place itself is amazing and a must do however it was horribly expensive with this company. We had done other tours in egypt that were amazing and less than half the price with guides that were out going and extremely educated on diverse topics. On this tour I felt like we go there, we looked around and went back. On the other tours at least they gave us water, food, and pleasant conversation. I would book once getting there unless you want to throw away a lot of money! The worst thing is after paying all that money, Then they asked for a tip after. I would not go with this company, but I would definitely go to Abu Simbel.
 

Review by:   Mats U,    November 2015 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
We were met up at the train station at Aswan and immediately felt well taken care of. We then travelled in a mini bus in a convoy to Abu Simbel, which took three hours one way. The guide spoke excellent English and was very knowledgeable and gave us the historical background on the Aswan Dam and Abu Simbel. The ride thorough the Sahara desert was an experience in it self. The Abu Simbel temple was magnificent! We had a tight schedule and needed to catch our train to go back to Cairo and the guide and the driver made every effort to make sure we made it on time. The tour was all in all very well organised and we highly recommend it!
 

Review by:   GLj,    August 2015 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
Fascinating place! Even if a long trip to get there, well worth it!
 

Review by:   Sarrah J,    August 2015 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
amazing
 

Review by:   john g,    May 2015 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Long journey but worth it, amazing to see_br/_ Guide was great
 

Review by:   Alex C,    January 2015 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
My son characterized this exhibit as the Mount Rushmore of Egypt. He is correct. This is a amazing tour and the statues are along the back of a breathtaking lake. The whole scene is quite picturesque. _br/_ ** It is a long commute from Aswan to Abu Simbel. 3 hours + / - You drive through the desert with a caravan of other tour vehicles for safety. Bring water and borrow the pillow from your hotel room :-)
 

Review by:   Cody S,    May 2014 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
My guide (Michael) and driver (Peter) were both professional and on time. The drive is roughly 3 hours (I left with the early 4 a.m. convoy). Michael spoke fluent English, and upon arrival at the site we walked to the front of the massive mountain monuments. Michael explained both momuments and their interiors (Guides are not permitted inside) for perhaps 20 minutes before giving me a full 2 hours and 15 minutes to explore by myself. This is an amazing place and a must see. Just make sure you grab a drink as soon as you step out of the car because after about 10 minutes alone I walked backed to the parking lot to buy a drink.
 

Review by:   jwat20n,    November 2013 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Amazing!!!!
 

Review by:   Martin T,    April 2013 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
Nice trip
 

Review by:   Prabhu Kannan,    January 2012 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
The trip was great experience
 

Review by:   NKR Prabhu,    January 2012 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
The trip was great experience
 

Review by:   Ronald M,    September 2011 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
The local agency met us at our boat when we arrived in Aswan and made arrangements to met us the next day at 3:45 am. The boat provided a box breakfast and coffee/tea. My son and I were the only participants, so we basically had a private tour. We went in a car with driver and guide. Abu Simbel is well worth the long drive and early morning departure. Afterwards they took us to our hotel in Aswan and arranged for transportation to the airport the next morning. Very impressed with the service and highly recommend the tour.
 

Review by:   Geoffrey M,    June 2011 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
absolutely brlliant. the trip, although long, was very comfortable with just the two of us..the actual time for looking at the temples was only one hour. i thought that was not enough time to see them.i was aware that we had to go in convoy but i felt we could have gone an hour later.
 

Review by:   Jeff O,    February 2011 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Excellent and efficient - guide included. A personal tour, all excellent.
 

Review by:   Lesley M,    February 2011 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Tour went well, a bit rushed at the site however. Guide should stay with customer longer I feel. Generally good.
 

Review by:   Jeff O,    December 2010 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Excellent and efficient - guide included. A personal tour, all excellent.
 

Review by:   GLORIA V,    December 2010 Review: 3 star rating: Worth doing
On time and as advertised, would love to have more time at the temples but the tour guide wanted to go to the papyrus shops which i didn't want to go to. So we just waited for a while until the convoy was ready to go. Overall, a good experience
 

Review by:   jorn r,    December 2010 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
Overall a good tour - the guide was excellent, the vehicle was comfortable and the on-board ice-box was appreciated. The second half of the return trip in darkness was a bit hairy since the driver was reluctant to use his headlights!
 

Review by:   jorn r,    November 2010 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
Overall a good tour - the guide was excellent, the vehicle was comfortable and the on-board ice-box was appreciated. The second half of the return trip in darkness was a bit hairy since the driver was reluctant to use his headlights!
 

Review by:   Joanna O,    November 2010 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Guide was wonderful, and we enjoyed the trip. Our driver was a little crazy, but we made it there and back just fine.
 

Review by:   Lesley M,    November 2010 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Tour went well, a bit rushed at the site however. Guide should stay with customer longer I feel. Generally good.
 

Review by:   Kathleen P,    November 2010 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
Visiting the temple rates a 6 star, but transit & content rate a 3-4. The guide was very helpful and well informed, but it would have been better facilitation to provide content during other opportunities, not when standing in full 107 degree sun for 20 minutes to go over details. If we had known about return options we would have elected gettting an earlier convoy for the return journey. However we had a great guide, willing to help with photos and anything we asked. The 4am, 4 hour trek through the desert would have been much better in an a/c spacious bus than our little fur-rugged, windows opened and 3 guys sleeping small van. But the driver was very nice.
 

Review by:   Raymond G,    October 2010 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
We had a great day with Mark and the drivers. Mark is a wonderful young man, well-educated in Egyptology and a lot of fun! We were amazed at the size and color of the Temples. We dare you to find the seams where modern work moved the Temples to above the dam! The convoy was a problem - they were very disorganized & wasted a lot time making the convoy turn around to start another way. We were so delayed that we only had about 1:15 to see the Temples. Mark made a yeoman's effort to give us all the info we needed in the Temples. Folks, the problem is w the gov't convoy system - NOT with Viator. DON'T MISS these wonderful Temples because of the convoy. We suspect that some days it'd work great & others it'd have problems. An additional idea - try to get to the Nubian Museum - these people were displaced as were the Temples by the dam & their story is amazing. Just above the museum is Nubian House. Whether you stop there for the hibiscus drinks, tea, cakes & fried doughnuts which were great or just get near there, the view is the most beautiful we saw in Egypt. We got there because of a taxi driver we hired to take us to the Museum. In Luxor Viator had told us not to miss the Aswan sunset - we merely mentioned it & the driver zoomed up to the House. At first we felt a little hijacked, not surprising in Egypt - the cabbies are trying to make extra money in a poor economy - be firm if you don't want something - but this time it was a gift!
 

Review by:   Geoffrey M,    October 2010 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
absolutely brlliant. the trip, although long, was very comfortable with just the two of us..the actual time for looking at the temples was only one hour. i thought that was not enough time to see them.i was aware that we had to go in convoy but i felt we could have gone an hour later.
 

Review by:   Kathleen P,    September 2010 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
Visiting the temple rates a 6 star, but transit & content rate a 3-4. The guide was very helpful and well informed, but it would have been better facilitation to provide content during other opportunities, not when standing in full 107 degree sun for 20 minutes to go over details. If we had known about return options we would have elected gettting an earlier convoy for the return journey. However we had a great guide, willing to help with photos and anything we asked. The 4am, 4 hour trek through the desert would have been much better in an a/c spacious bus than our little fur-rugged, windows opened and 3 guys sleeping small van. But the driver was very nice.
 

Review by:   Sean F,    June 2010 Review: 3 star rating: Worth doing
While Abu Simbel was fantastic and is a must see, the six hour drive (3 hrs there, 3 hrs back) seemed excessive for the short time you are actually at the temple.
 

Review by:   Heather H,    June 2010 Review: 3 star rating: Worth doing
Abu Simbel was great. The guide was ok, but considering we spent hours with her, she gave us a 10 minute briefing we could have gotten from any tour book and that was it. They were gracious enough not to insist we stop at the Papyrus factory on the way back. It's a long drive, and while the private car was nice, we could have gotten one with a guide through our hotel for the same price that we paid for 1 person with Viator. We were concerned we wouldn't be able to get a tour for all 4 of us on the 1 day we were in Aswan, but once we arrived, it was clear we would have had no issues finding an alternative tour for much cheaper.
 

Review by:   Laura R,   Mexico, May 2010 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
The trip was great, the way is kind of long but you may get see a lot of camels on the road. We went to the tour at 1130pm it was nice because we had the temples to our selves. If you can stand a little heat then I would recommend going at this time, you get to see the sunset on the way back. The guy who arranged the tour with the guide was very nice, he also helped me confirm the tours I had in Luxor and Cairo.
 

Review by:   Anonymous,   United States of America, May 2010 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
Very good service. The local travel agency was VERY attentive in assuring that all of the arrnagements were in place and understood. A representative came to our boat the day bedfore to meet with me. Greatly appreciated. That being said, the guide who traveled to Aswan with us was essentially useless. Spent most of the time in the van on her cell phone had only the most elementary knowldege of the site, with a folio of photographs to show but inability to answer even the most basic questions. Would have been happier to just have the drivers on the trip.
 

Review by:   Sean F,    May 2010 Review: 3 star rating: Worth doing
While Abu Simbel was fantastic and is a must see, the six hour drive (3 hrs there, 3 hrs back) seemed excessive for the short time you are actually at the temple.
 

Review by:   Heather H,    May 2010 Review: 3 star rating: Worth doing
Abu Simbel was great. The guide was ok, but considering we spent hours with her, she gave us a 10 minute briefing we could have gotten from any tour book and that was it. They were gracious enough not to insist we stop at the Papyrus factory on the way back. It's a long drive, and while the private car was nice, we could have gotten one with a guide through our hotel for the same price that we paid for 1 person with Viator. We were concerned we wouldn't be able to get a tour for all 4 of us on the 1 day we were in Aswan, but once we arrived, it was clear we would have had no issues finding an alternative tour for much cheaper.
 

Review by:   Juan Jose G,    May 2010 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
The trip was great, the way is kind of long but you may get see a lot of camels on the road. We went to the tour at 1130pm it was nice because we had the temples to our selves. If you can stand a little heat then I would recommend going at this time, you get to see the sunset on the way back. The guy who arranged the tour with the guide was very nice, he also helped me confirm the tours I had in Luxor and Cairo.
 

Review by:   Concepcion C. M,    May 2010 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
Very good service. The local travel agency was VERY attentive in assuring that all of the arrnagements were in place and understood. A representative came to our boat the day bedfore to meet with me. Greatly appreciated. That being said, the guide who traveled to Aswan with us was essentially useless. Spent most of the time in the van on her cell phone had only the most elementary knowldege of the site, with a folio of photographs to show but inability to answer even the most basic questions. Would have been happier to just have the drivers on the trip.
 

Review by:   John S,   Australia, April 2010 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Excellent organisation and ran without a hitch!
 

Review by:   Anonymous,    April 2010 Review: 3 star rating: Worth doing
Abu Simbel is amazing. A must-see for anyone traveling to Egypt. I was not impressed with the guide at all. We were with him for 8 hours and he gave us a 10 minute overview of Abu Simbel. I learned more by reading my guide book. Also, the second driver in the van entitled himself to take an entire row of seats to sleep during the trip down while one of our group members was forced to sit up in a sit for a 3 12 hour pre-dawn trip. I would not recommend the local tour company for anything....
 

Review by:   Marcia K,    April 2010 Review: 3 star rating: Worth doing
Abu Simbel is amazing. A must-see for anyone traveling to Egypt. I was not impressed with the guide at all. We were with him for 8 hours and he gave us a 10 minute overview of Abu Simbel. I learned more by reading my guide book. Also, the second driver in the van entitled himself to take an entire row of seats to sleep during the trip down while one of our group members was forced to sit up in a sit for a 3 12 hour pre-dawn trip. I would not recommend the local tour company for anything....
 

Review by:   Tessa D,   United Kingdom, March 2010 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
This was a great experience and well woth the long bus trip. Our delightful guide made the whole journey interesting.
 

Review by:   Arthur B,   United Kingdom, February 2010 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
Comfortable minibus, good driver and guide, sleeping policeman a doddle of a day for security duty! View of quarry with unfinished obelisk. Road across old dam with high dam in the distance, mirages in the desert. Would like to have had more time on the display of the project to move the temples.
 

Review by:   Iain M,    February 2010 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Honestly an excellent tour, the highlight of my trip to Egypt. A clean, safe bus and wonderful insightful guide. A brilliant day and organised with no trouble at all, which isn't always easy in Egypt despite it being an incredible place.
 

Review by:   iain m,   United Kingdom, January 2010 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Honestly an excellent tour, the highlight of my trip to Egypt. A clean, safe bus and wonderful insightful guide. A brilliant day and organised with no trouble at all, which isn't always easy in Egypt despite it being an incredible place.
 

Review by:   Stephen R,   Qatar, January 2010 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
Despite the early morning off-boarding from the cruise ship, the trip was amazing and definitely worth doing.... once in a lifetime. You can't avoid the 6 hours total travel tofrom unless you fly but there again, the cost would have been three times as much. Take a pillow for the vanbus ride if you can. My only recommendation to the vendor was to provide more clearly defined instructions for cruise passengers on what do to with their luggage while on this excursion, when we get back, what to do after the trip if you have a later train or flight to Cairo or elsewhere. We got all of this information but it was pieced together and took some work to do so. All in all, this was a great adventure and worth the time and money to see this spectacular monument....truly breathtaking!
 

Review by:   Iain M,    January 2010 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Honestly an excellent tour, the highlight of my trip to Egypt. A clean, safe bus and wonderful insightful guide. A brilliant day and organised with no trouble at all, which isn't always easy in Egypt despite it being an incredible place.
 

Review by:   Anonymous,   United States of America, October 2009 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
The highlight of the trip, well worth the journey.
 

Review by:   Anonymous,    September 2009 Review: 1 star rating: I do not recommend this
The car was old and not maintained properly, we blew a tire on the way. The driver drove on the wrong side of the road the whole trip going 150 km/hour. It was dangerous. They made us stop for a cigarette break. The guide was not useful and whole 'tour' took 5 minutes with poor explanation. It is shame such a magnificent place was let down by a badly organized tour. I would not recommend anyone use these services, which is a shame because I live in Dubai and all of my work colleagues travel withing the middle east a lot.
 

Review by:   William Z,   United States of America, April 2009 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
This trip was a long haul on the van, but we were happy to have a private tour with only the two of us. Our guide was personable, but somewhat wooden. No photos in the temple, which is unfortunate, but some good photos sold. Incredible temples, both Ramses and Nefertari. The time at temples is limited, 2 hours, so it is somewhat rushed, especially after a 3 hour drive. Beautiful sunrise in the desert. Definitely worth the time and effort.
 

Review by:   Anonymous,   United Kingdom, April 2009 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
Trip was fine and the actual site was fantastic, however, I believe for what is provided the tour is very overpriced. The transfer is long however and guides are not allowed in the temple itself, therefore guides travel the 6 hour return journey to speak to you for 10-15 minutes on the site. Fantastic site, definitely visit, however, I would recommend a cheaper option as there are many operators who offer the exact same programme.
 

Review by:   Sachin J,   United Kingdom, January 2009 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Very good guide. Extremely helpful. The temples are stunning.
 

Review by:   Joerg G,    January 2009 Review: 2 star rating: It was OK, but could have been better
The guide was not so good, the drivers were sometimes pretty scary, the time at the site too short, and the requirement to tip everyone a pain in the bum esp. given how much we already paid.
 

Review by:   Anonymous,    January 2009 Review: 2 star rating: It was OK, but could have been better
Our English speaking guide had a very strong accent and it was hard to understand him. guides leading other groups had better visual aids for the explanations. We we not aware that the tour included some stops at shops. At the end of the day I felt rushed through amazing Abu Simbel so they could drive us to the stores.
 

Review by:   Judith R,   United States of America, December 2008 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Very impressed with the efficiency of the web site, message waiting for us on the cruise ship, prompt pick up, guide's courtesy and knowledge. It was worth the early wake up and drive. Sunrise over the desert was awesome. Abu Simbel should not be missed.
 

All Traveler Reviews...

USD $103.00
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